17), in such a manner as to show that Elath was more ancient than Ezion-geber, and was of so much repute as to be used for indicating the locality of other plr.ces : the passage also fixes the spot where Elath itself was to be found : " and king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Elath, on the shore (Num. xxxiii, 35) of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom." See Ezion-geber. The use which David made of the vicinity of Elath shows that the country was at that time in his possession. Accordingh', in 2 Sam. viii, 14, we learn that he had previousW made himself master of Iduma?a, and garrisoned its strong-holds with his own troops. Under Joram, however (2 Kings viii, 20), the Idumaeans revolted from Judah, and elected a king over themselves. Joram thereupon assembled his forces, "and all the chariots with him," and, fall- ing on the Iduma?ans bj' night, succeeded in defeating and scattering their army. The Hebrews, neverthe- less, could not prevail, but "Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day ;" thus exemplifj-ing the striking language employed (Gen. xxvii, 40) by Isaac : " By thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thj' brother ; and it shall come to pass, when thou slialt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off th}^ neck." From 2 Kings xiv, 22, however, it ap- pears that Uzziah recovered Elath, and, having so re- paired and adorned the city as to be said to liave built, that is, rebuilt it, he made it a y)art of his dominions. This connection was not of long continuance ; for in chap, xvi, ver. 6 of the same book, we find the Sj'rian king Rezin interposing, who captured Elath, drove out the Jews, and annexed the place to his Syrian king- dom, and "the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day." At a later period it fell under the power of the Romans, and was for a time guarded by the tenth legion, forming part of Palwstina Tertia (Je- rome, Onomast. s. v. Ailath ; Strabo, xxi, 4, 4 ; Reland, Palcest. p. 55G). It subsequentlj' became the residence of a Christian bishop. Bishops of Elath were at the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) and at that of Con- stantinople (A.D. 5S6). At the Council of Chalcedon, Bervllus thus wrote his designation as " bishop of ^Ela of Third Palestine" ('AVAa rj/c n«Xnifrr('i'»;c rpirijc). In the days of its prosperity it was much distinguished for commerce, which continued to flourish under the auspices of Christianity (Cellarii Notit. ii, C86 sq.). In the 6th century it is spoken of liy Piocojiius as being inhabited by Jews subject to the Roman dominion (Z>e Bell. Pers. i, 10). In A.D. 630 the Christian commu- nities of Arabia Petra-a found it expedient to submit to Mohammed, when John, the Christian governor of Ailah, became bound to pay an annual tribute of 300 gold pieces (Abulfeda, Ann. i, 171). Henceforward, till the present century, Ailah lay in the darkness of Islaniism. It is merely mentioned by tlie supposed Ibn-Haukal (Engl, translation of D'Arvieux, Append, p. 353), perhaps in the 11th century; and, after the middle of the 12tii,Edrisi describes it as a .'=mall town frequented by the Arabs, who were now its masters, and forming an important point in tlie route between Cairo and INIedina. In A.D. 1116, king Baldwin of Je- rusalem took possession of it. Again it was wrested from the hands of the Christians liy Saladin I, A.D. 11S7, and never again fully recovered by them, al- though the reckless Rainald of Chatillon, in A.D. 1182, seized, and for a time held, the town. In Abulfeda's day, and before A.D. 1300, it was already deserted. He says, " In our day it is a fortress, to which a gov- ernor is sent from Egypt. It had a small castle in the sea, but this is now abandoned, and the governor re- moved to the fortress on the shore." Such as Ailah was in the days of Almlfeda, is Akabah now. Mounds of rubbish alone mark the site of the town, while a fortress, occupied by a governor and a small garrison under the jiasha of Etrypt, serves to keo]) the neigh- boring tribes of the desert in awe, and to minister to the wants and protection of the annual Egyptian Ilaj,
EL-BETHEL
115
ELDER
or pilgrim caravan. Under the Roman rule it lost its former importance with the transference of its trade to othsr ports, such as Berenice, Myos Hormos, and Arsinoo; but in Mohammedan times it again became a place of some note. It is now quite insigniricant. It lies on the route of the Egyi)tian pilgrim-caravan, and the mountain-road or 'Akabah named after it was improved or reconstructed by Ahmad Ibn-Tulun, who ruled Egypt from A.D. cir. 840 to 848. This place has alwa3's been an important station upon the route of the Egyptian Haj. Such is the importance of this caravan of pilgrims from Cairo to Mecca, both in a religious and political point of view, tliat the rulers of Egypt from the earliest pariod have given it convoy and protection. For this purpose a line of fortresses similar to that of Akal>ah has l)een established at inter- vals along the route, with wells of water and supplies of provisions (Rol)inson's Biblical Researches, i, 250). The first Frank who visited this place in modern times was Kuppell, in 1822 {Reise, \). 248 sq.). Labordc {Jour- ney through Arabia Peii-ma, London, 1836) was well re- ceived by the garrison and inhabitants of the castle of Akabah, of which he has given a view (i, 116). The fortress, he states, is built on a regular plan, and is in a pretty good condition, thoui^h within several good habitations have been suffered to fall to decay. It has only two guns fit for service (Bartlett, Fortu Days in the Desert, p. 99 sq.). The ancient name of the place is indicative of groves in the vicinity, and Strabo speaks of its palm-woods (xvi, 776), wliich appear still to sub- sist (Niebuhr, Beschr. p. 400 ; Schubert, ii, 379).— Kit- to, s. V.